The Crown and a judge urged a man – accused of drug trafficking after Stratford police said they found six pounds of weed in a vehicle during a roadside sobriety checkpoint – to hire a lawyer.

Dinh Nguyen, a 47-year-old Burlington resident, was charged this past December but has yet to retain counsel. Federal Crown prosecutor Denis Harrison indicated it’s time to make some progress on that front.

Ontario Court Justice Allan Maclure agreed.

“The prosecutor has rightly indicated that you need to start moving on this,” Maclure said to Nguyen through a Vietnamese interpreter.

During a previous appearance, duty counsel William Thorn said the accused could “really use” the assistance of legal aid. When he returned this week, the interpreter said Nguyen went to the legal-aid office with a friend to assist with the language barrier. Duty counsel Karl McNamara said Nguyen will likely need to find a lawyer online first and then finish the application.

Veh stopped during @RIDEcheck last night resulted in over 6lbs of illegal cannabis being seized and two males arrested/charged under new Cannabis Act. 3 Roadside breath tests were also conducted with 1 3-day suspension issued during the RIDE #drivesoberpic.twitter.com/ykRVEAwAyz

“It takes some time,” McNamara said. “Perhaps three weeks, your honour – to April 1 – to allow him to find a lawyer.”

The Crown backed the timeline and the judge ordered it.

Stratford police say they allegedly found the sizable amount of weed while stopping approximately 700 vehicles at checkpoints around Stratford, St. Marys and Perth South on Dec. 11. The drugs were seized and two male occupants from Burlington were arrested, police said at the time.

Nguyen was charged with possessing marijuana for the purpose of distributing it and selling it under the Cannabis Act. The charges have not been tested in court.

A 57-year-old co-accused had two charges filed against him in mid-December dropped by the federal prosecutor last month.